New York

Where to eat in New York with kids. Eating out can be especially tough for families in New York because while there is an endless selection of amazing restaurants, most are small and cramped due to how expensive rent is in the city. Many restaurants won't be able to provide you with a high chair or booster, and if you want some space to stash a stroller? Fuhgeddaboudit! Mother of girls, Carmen Sognonvi from luxury family travel website Top Flight Family, gives suitcases&strollers her city guide to eating out with kids in New York.

Profile of International Medical Clinic Singapore’sDr June Tan. As a family doctor based in Singapore, Dr June Tan sees a lot of families with medical questions relating to travel with kids. As a mother of two kids herself – Jade (2) and Pierce (8 months) – she has also experienced a bit herself. In the past June lived in Berlin and took advantage of that time to travel around Hungary, the Czech Republic and Latvia. She’s also visited places like Nepal, Egypt, China and Taiwan. These days she does 2 to 3 long family holidays with the kids and jokes that despite having been to multiple parts of Europe and the US, she is still yet to see much in her own backyard of Southeast Asia. She shares her family travel experiences with suitcases&strollers.

The Man in Seat 61 tells suitcases&strollers his favourite train journeys with kids. Mark Smith is a career railwayman who has travelled all over the globe including from London to Tokyo via Moscow’s Trans-Siberian Railway, to Turkey, Syria and Jordan and around Hong Kong, Mongolia and Beijing. His kids Nathanel (9) and Katelijn (6) have followed him and his wife Nicolette on train journeys from the UK to Italty, Switzerland, Spain, Morocco and right across the USA from New York to Los Angeles. Wherever he goes, he always tries to sit in Seat 61 and documents his travels plus lots of other useful information for train enthusiasts on his website. Here are his really thoughtful insights into why travel by train with kids is so much more rewarding than any other form of transport.

If your kids love superheros or are addicted to video games, a visit to a Comic-Con is in order. These are not just for adult nerds, insists Wayne Rée. The self-professed geek has been to two San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC or, as Wayne calls it, “the big daddy of Comic-Cons”) and is a regular every year at the Singapore Toy, Game and Comic Convention (STGCC). This year he even presented his own work at STGCC, a book of short stories called Tales From A Tiny Room. He tells suitcases&strollers why Comic-Cons make fantastic family holiday destinations for big and small kids.

Aun Koh is known for his love of eating and travelling which has resulted in his highly successful food blog (wryly titled Chubby Hubby) that documents his culinary adventures. Over the years he has explored the world with his wife, Su-Lyn Tan, sampling the finest cuisines to exotic street foods. But these days travel is a little less glamorous and more sedate thanks to the arrival of his son Toby (3). He tells suitcases&strollers how a dedicated Singaporean foodie has adjusted his travel tastes to holiday with kids.

New York City had the Irwin family in awe when they visited in March. Bindi Irwin (15) and her mum, Terri, and brother Robert (10) had a little something special for everyone, even in the midst of an extreme cold snap. Bindi, daughter of legendary crocodile hunter Steve Irwin, spreads the news to suitcases&strollers about why New York makes for a great family holiday destination – and maybe even a family adventure holiday.

Samantha Feuss is one of the most influential mummy bloggers in the USA and runs website Have Sippy Will Travel. She lives in northern New Jersey but she and her 6-year-old son regularly visit New York. The Big Apple – with Times Square, Broadway, Central Park and so many iconic places – is one of the most buzzing cities in the world and this, Feuss says, makes it the perfect family holiday destination. She tells suitcases&strollers the essential tips you need to do New York with kids.

Herman Zapp and his wife Candelaria are
fulfilling their lifelong dream to explore the world and have been travelling
since 2000. Apart from a few months here and there, they have been on the road
in their 7-seater Graham-Paige 1928 from Alaska to Argentina, all around
Australia and around 13 countries in Asia. Their four children are truly global
citizens and were born in the course of their parents’ travels – Pampa (11 in the USA), Tehue (8 in
Argentina), Paloma (6 in Canada) and Wallaby (4 in Australia). Herman (currently
in Zimbabwe) tells suitcases&strollers
about the joys of permanently traveling with kids and why their life is so
much more than just an extended family holiday.

The former Carlton hero sports a
different career since he retired from the AFL. Anthony Koutoufides has been a ballroom dancer on Dancing With The Stars, cook on Celebrity Come Dine With Me Australia and
runs health clinics at Kouta Fit Club. His multi-varied career means he travels all over Australia and the globe and a
few times a year he takes his kids Jamie (10), Monique (9) and Lukas (3) with
him on family holiday. He tells suitcases&strollers why travelling
with children (sometimes) makes them smile.

Marathons, triathlons, ironman
competitions – these might not seem like events around which to build a family
holiday. But they can actually make for a different, fun and educational way to
travel with kids says Mike Pizel, dad to Alex (9), Sean (7) and Joshua (4). Mike has competed in multiple competitive races with his wife, Jo, all over
the world and they’ve taken their kids to many of them. He tells suitcases&strollers how to get
ready, set, go! and exercise while travelling by doing fun runs with kids.

If you’re not a committed annual participant, then every October’s Halloween brings up the old debate. Is it commercialised, consumer nonsense or a way to introduce the kids to creativity, community and the history of other cultures? Abigail Denham-McQuillen, mother to Brooke (8) and Jeremy (5), tells suitcases&strollers why she thinks Halloween teaches children a bit about themselves, their neighbourhood and other places in the world – a cheap and cheerful way of accomplishing all the things that traveling with kids is all about.

If you've always wanted to know what it's like inside the cockpit, here is a bird's eye view of the landing into JFK Airport, New York, USA. If you have a fear of flying this is a good one to watch as it all looks surprisingly straightforward. And for kids, since flight deck visits are so rare now, this is a fun chance to get right into the pilot's seat – without even paying for a ticket.

Free maps might work well
for adult tourist attractions, but how do you know which museums, parks and
other excursions are suitable for kids? These little guidebooks and maps are
perfect for a family travelling with children as a pocket-sized source of ideas
for how to keep teeny tots to pre-teens occupied from Paris to Hong Kong,
Berlin to Singapore. (Like what you see? To win a Little Luxe Linen Box set of Little Luxe City Guides go to the
bottom of this story for details. *THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED*)

Noah Davies just might be the most travelled
toddler we’ve met so far. After being born in Port Elizabeth,
South Africa, at the age of 2 he has already been to 29 cities from Miami to Melbourne, Koh Samui
to St Juan. (His father works in the tourism industry.) The longest he has ever
stayed in one destination is 2 months (Germany and Orlando, Florida, USA). His
mother, Yolade, tells us the story of this frequent flier. (And we want to meet
your little frequent fliers too. To win a Gooie
backpack go to the bottom of this story for details. *THIS COMPETITION HAS NOW CLOSED*)

Amy Burkert and her
husband have spent the last 3 years travelling with their dogs Ty (Shar-Pei) and
Buster (German Shepherd) all over North America. Their experiences have sparked
the very comprehensive pet accommodation database Go Pet Friendly, something like a Trip Advisor for travelling animals that
even allows you to plan your road trips through North America in advance. She
tells suitcases&strollers why travelling with pets is an important part of every family vacation.

Gagging to go to the
Guggenheim, but worried the munchkins won’t behave? As Group Director, Art
Collections, Estates and Valuations at Bonhams, Harvey Cammell knows something about art. He has
taken his kids Nancy (11) and Tom (8) to view everything from classic portraits
to Goya’s fantastical works to contemporary American art and he says parents can absolutely visit art galleries with kids and museums with little ones. Here are his tips for
introducing children to the great works.

No, we’re not just talking fussy eating here. If you or anyone in your family has Crohne’s disease, is celiac or has an allergy to nuts, for example, watching what you eat while on holidays can literally save your life. Kim Koeller, President and CEO of Gluten Free Passport tells suitcases&strollers about how to travel safely with kids with allergies and dietary restrictions.

Imagine arriving at the
airport to find your own personal nanny waiting to help you get the bags
through check-in whose sole purpose is to entertain your child during the
flight. No more missed meals or bursting bladder, but a pleasurable experience
where someone else helps take care of bubs and you actually get to relax on the
plane. (Maybe you'll even get to watch an entire movie!) Want to know more? Read on…

Sometimes learning about other cultures doesn’t
even require you to open the front door. Whether it’s to prep for an upcoming
holiday or just to encourage a desire to see the world, books can be an
excellent inspiration for children and adults. Here are some fun travel-themed
books for kids.

For 6 years Stevie Nicholson (pictured on the far left) has
been touring the world from Malaysia to The Philippines plus all over his
native Australia, singing, dancing and donning rainbow-coloured getups for
children’s entertainment band Hi-5. He
spends about half the year travelling with Hi-5 and acting as an ambassador for
World Vision. He tells suitcases&strollers about performing for
non-English-speaking audiences, his love of road trips and the popularity of
Elvis in Cambodia.